Midtown Lunch

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Zachary who has an interesting food dislike and would rather dig into a plate lunch.

Name: Zachary Lerner

Occupation: Program analyst

Where you work: Broadway & Worth

Age: 31

Favorite kinds of food: Now that it’s feeling a bit more like Fall, I’m looking for soups and stews with a thick wedge of bread. As long as it’s not cream-based there’s no need for a second course.

Least favorite foods: Thai food.  This is probably my own fault, I have a really hard time finding standout Thai restaurants in the city.  One blends into the other and it ends up a sugar, basil, lemongrass and chili blah.

Favorite lunches downtown: The takeout pho at Thai Son on Baxter (btw. Bayard & Walker), where they give you the broth in one container and the meat and noodles in another.  The banh mi is a good value at $4.  Yeah, I know I said I don’t like Thai food and the place is called Thai Son.  It’s a Vietnamese joint, trust me. Church near Canal St. may be my favorite area.   The Spanish-American place (West Side Coffee Shop ) next to Sea World is very filling even though its best dishes breach $10.  If you don’t overeat it’s two meals for sure. Where else…the Pane Panelle sandwich place that opened off of Stuzzicheria on Church St. (at Walker) is good too. The first time I went there I was irritated with the small portions.  The sandwiches are 1/2 to 2/3 the size of what you might find at a typical deli.  However, about ten minutes after eating I was full so it may turn out to be the correct amount of food.  Also, the complimentary caponata served on the side is delightful, caramelized eggplant and pine nuts. When I’ve really earned it, I’ll walk up to Salume on West Broadway (at Grand).

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As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Nancy who works in the middle of three neighborhoods with plenty of food options. Just don’t expect her to ask for extra mayo. 

Name: Nancy

Occupation: Advertising art director

Where you work: Canal & Varick

Age: Younger than the San Gennaro Feast

Favorite kinds of food: I prefer Asian food over American but I do love a good steak, great BBQ and lobster.

Least favorite foods: Anything with mayo or eggs, so egg salad tops the list.

Favorite lunches downtown: This neighborhood is great since we are so close to Tribeca, Chinatown, and the newly named “Hudson Square” which is growing in lunch options. I go to Pecan in Tribeca for their soup (butternut squash) and salad (chicken quinoa) lunch combo. When heading to the library on Leroy St., I hit Better Being Underground  (btw. Hudson & 7th Ave. South) for the Nuyorican wrap or Slumdog Millionaire press sandwich. Everyone in the ‘hood loves Alidoro on Sullivan (btw. Spring & Prince) and I usually order the Frugoletto sandwich. For $5 pho, I go to Nha Trang on Centre St. (at Walker) but if I’m not up for a walk through Chinatown, Mekong on King (at 6th Ave.) has tasty, though more expensive, Vietnamese. Mooncake Foods on Watts (at 6th Ave.) is close by and I love their salmon.

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As is customary here on Midtown Lunch: Downtown, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Vendy Awards Managing Director Helena, who is no doubt busy ahead of this Saturday’s gut-busting event on Governor’s Island. Want to know what she eats for lunch on a daily basis? Hint: She likes the street carts.

Name: Helena

Occupation: Managing Director of the Vendy Awards

Where you work: The Street Vendor Project, William (btw. Fulton & John)

Age: 31

Favorite kinds of food: This is like asking a mother who their favorite child is, but If I must, here it goes: Spicy, brothy, noodley soups, black beans and rice, breakfast tacos, raw fish, channa masala, roti canai, thin-skinned dumplings, peak-of-summer tomato sandwiches with butter and salt, pozole, miso soup, snow pea greens with garlic, and Greek-style grilled octopus.

Least favorite foods: Mayo and goat cheese–I know, I know, it’s a shonda.

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As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Rich who has a lot of good sandwich recommendations for the Soho/South Village area.

Name: Rich

Occupation: Software engineer

Where you work: Bleecker & Broadway

Age: 29

Favorite kinds of food: Ramen, chirashi, burgers, oysters, anything spicy or fermented (except stinky tofu).

Least favorite foods: Stinky tofu, over-cooked BBQ, anything super greasy

Favorite lunches downtown: No. 9 tuna sandwich and bee stinger smoothie at Lite Delights (a.k.a. “Juice Bar”) on E. Houston & Mott; “Matthew” proscuitto & mozzarella sandwich on semolina at Alidoro on Sullivan (btw. Spring & Prince); Tuna 1.0 or lamb sandwich at Snack on Thompson (btw. Spring & Prince); Super Heebster on an everything bagel, toasted, at Russ & Daughters on E. Houston (btw. Allen & Orchard); Calexico burrito at the Calexico Cart on Wooster (at Prince); Tofu spicy udon or beef bibimbap at Duke’s on Broadway (at Spring); Pretzel sandwich with turkey at Whole Foods on E. Houston (at Bowery).

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Name: Sarah K.

As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Yumiko who teaches in Tribeca and but wishes she worked closer to K-Town and its cheap lunches.

Name: Yumiko Higaki

Occupation: Elementary school teacher

Where you work: Greenwich btw. Chambers & Warren

Age: 32

Favorite kinds of food: Anything involving plain white steamed rice.  I’d eat onigiri (rice balls) three meals a day if I didn’t care much about my health but I do and consequently try to balance out the carbs by diversifying my diet.

Least favorite foods: Things (and I don’t call this food) that have excessive amount of food coloring and look too artificial like blue icing on cupcakes.

Favorite lunches downtown: Mangez Avec Moi Express on W. Broadway (btw. Murray & Warren). Their chicken sate banh mi on seven grain bread is the best!

The “go-to” lunch place you and your co-workers eat at too often: Whole Foods. It’s too convenient.  I spend way too much time (waiting in line) and money there.

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As is customary here on Midtown Lunch, every Tuesday we’ll profile a different lunch’er and get their recommendations for places to eat in Downtown NYC. This week, we have Simon, who works in an expensive neighborhood so he seeks out lunches in a different one.

Name: Simon Portnoy

Occupation: Event coordinator

Where you work: Spring & Varick streets

Age: 29

Favorite kinds of food: There’s just too much good stuff out there to pick favorites but I do prefer the ethnic eats! Tripe tacos, sweetbreads, sushi, shellfish, brisket, and my mama’s cooking.

Least favorite foods: Fast food, pre-packaged anything, over-priced, over-hyped food trucks and lame corporate renditions of New York classics like Papa John’s pizza.

Favorite lunches downtown: Lunch can get expensive on Spring St. so I spend the majority of my time in Chinatown. I go for the roast pig at Wah Fung #1 Fast Food on Chrystie (btw. Grand & Bowery), and the fish balls over rice noodles with peanut sauce from the street cart off of Grand & Bowery. I love the hand pulled noodle soup from Sheng Wang on Eldridge (btw. Canal & Berry) or the cumin lamb burgers from Xi’an Famous Foods (Multiple Locations). Take the money you save on lunch and buy some gum ’cause you’ll need it after a couple of those lamb burgers.

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